Customers invited to join in and round up purchases; debuts commercial raising awareness around food insecurity
CINCINNATI, Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co.'s (NYSE: KR) Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation today announced its annual Hunger Action Month campaign, directing all funds raised in Kroger Family of Stores during the month of September to the Feeding America network of food banks in our communities. Customers can round up their purchase to the nearest dollar in their neighborhood store to help neighbors struggling with hunger.
Hunger Action Month is an annual nationwide month of action to spread awareness and encourage everyone to join the movement to end hunger. Since 2017, Kroger has directed more than 3.4 billion meals to nourish our communities and plans to donate 10 billion meals by 2030, upon completion of the merger with Albertsons Cos. Kroger is a visionary partner of Feeding America and continues to provide year-round support through charitable giving and donating surplus fresh food.
"We know that food is inextricably linked to the health of our communities, and Kroger is on a mission to end hunger and expand access to affordable, fresh food for everyone," said Keith Dailey, Kroger's group vice president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer. "We are inspired every day by the generosity and passion of our customers and associates who join our fight against hunger by rounding up, volunteering and giving back to their communities. While we can't solve hunger alone, working together we can find the solutions to our biggest challenges."
Kroger has donated a total of $3 million to Feeding America so far this year, including company and customer donations. During Hunger Action Month last year, the Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation raised nearly $600,000 for Feeding America.
Across the country, Kroger divisions are also celebrating Hunger Action Month with other local events benefiting Feeding America food banks, including but not limited to:
- Dallas Division: Kroger Dallas division and associates are participating in the food bank's Volunteer-a-Thon for North Texas Giving Day. The division is also sponsoring North Texas Food Bank's annual Peanut Butter Drive, inviting customers to donate shelf stable proteins and help meet the goal of raising $300,000 and collecting 100,000 lbs. of peanut butter.
- Cincinnati/Dayton Division: The division is donating $15,000 to The Sam Hubbard Foundation to support Hubbard's Cupboards. Hubbard's Cupboards, founded by Cincinnati Bengal Sam Hubbard, originally launched as a pilot in five schools during the 2022-2023 school year. The program has experienced tremendous growth, expanding to 21 schools in 2025. In collaboration with Crayons to Computers, the program aims to provide underserved students with timely access to essential supplies and healthy snacks.
- Mid-Atlantic Division: For the sixth consecutive year, the Mid-Atlantic division is supporting local Feeding America foodbanks with a Peanut Butter Drive. Customers are invited to purchase peanut butter and place it in the donation bins outside the store entrances. Peanut butter is a wanted item at food banks, as it's shelf stable and a great source of protein for people and families facing food insecurity.
44 million people in the U.S., including 1 in 5 children, are not sure where their next meal is coming from. Since launching Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste impact plan in 2017, the retailer has provided $1.5 billion to support hunger relief, including nearly 700 million pounds of surplus fresh food donations from our stores. To raise awareness for hunger relief, Kroger debuted a Zero Hunger | Zero Waste commercial this summer to inspire customers to join in their mission to end hunger. View the new commercial here.
Feeding America is the nation's largest hunger relief organization. Through a network of more than 200 food banks, 21 statewide food bank associations and over 60,000 partner agencies, food pantries and meal programs, the Feeding America network collects food and financial donations, moves and distributes food to people who experience food insecurity. Find your local Feeding America food bank here.
To learn more about Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, visit here.
About Kroger
At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are dedicated to our Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit™. We are, across our family of companies nearly 420,000 associates who serve over 11 million customers daily through a seamless digital shopping experience and retail food stores under a variety of banner names, serving America through food inspiration and uplift, and creating #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities. To learn more about us, visit our newsroom and investor relations site.
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SOURCE The Kroger Co.
